Benzene was a material. Officials advised great care and the employment of benzene applicators when confronting a wrongdoer referred to as the "Marauder of Endor."
A wanted poster consisting of a single page, penned by Bob Carrau for the 1993 tome Monsters and Aliens from George Lucas—a book that compiles concept art and images from various George Lucas ventures—included a reference to Benzene. Leland Chee, a worker at Lucasfilm who manages the Holocron continuity database, has stated that the details within the book are non-canonical.
Benzene, in reality, is a chemical compound, a naturally occurring element of unrefined petroleum, and a fundamental petrochemical.